Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) reported a sharp increase in backlog and continued expansion of its commercial and operational footprint during the fiscal second quarter ended October 31.
Backlog at quarter-end rose to approximately $15 million, up from $3.8 million a year earlier, while the company’s pipeline increased to $137.5 million as of the quarter-end, compared to $84.4 million at the same point in 2024.
During the quarter, Ocean Power Technologies shipped eight WAM-V autonomous surface vehicles.
It also announced several strategic initiatives, including a partnership with Mythos AI to integrate AI-driven autonomy across its WAM-V and PowerBuoy platforms, a partnership with Gradient Marine to add digital-twin and simulation capabilities, and certification by AUVSI as a Trusted Uncrewed Maritime Systems Operator Training Provider.
Revenue for Q2 was $0.4 million, down from $2.4 million in the prior-year quarter. The company said the decline was largely due to timing impacts associated with the US federal government shutdown, which shifted certain deliverables and development activities into subsequent periods.
“Despite the federal government being shut down for nearly half of our fiscal quarter, we continued to expand our pipeline and strengthen our position across our key markets,” OPT CEO Philipp Stratmann said in a statement.
He expressed confidence in the company’s ability to convert its pipeline into backlog. “We believe that the heightened focus on national security and the southern maritime border has accelerated customer urgency, and we have already begun ramping buoy readiness for expected deployments,” Stratmann said.
“Internationally, we completed critical demonstrations in Latin America and the UAE for both defense and commercial customers, and we maintained our vehicle production cadence, shipping a WAM-V roughly every two to three weeks to meet demo and milestone commitments.”
Gross profit for the quarter was a loss of $1.4 million, compared with gross profit of $0.8 million a year earlier, attributed to the recognition of one-time contract losses.
Operating expenses increased to $8.7 million from $4.7 million, primarily reflecting higher non-cash stock-based compensation and increased headcount.
As of October 31, Ocean Power Technologies reported combined cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $11.7 million.